


United

by PencilofAwesomeness



Category: Disney - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguity, Chase is 1000 percent done with life, Disney United, Family Dynamics, Friendship, Gang Wars, Gen, I Broke the Universe, I broke the world, Life is Difficult, Mass Disney AU, Moral Ambiguity, No sunshine and rainbows here, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Resistence, Suspense, Team as Family, Teamwork, Terrorism, The world is messed up, Those who almost die together stay together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-08-14 08:48:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8006329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PencilofAwesomeness/pseuds/PencilofAwesomeness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mass Disney AU. </p><p>The human world is a mess. War-torn governments are unable to fight the rampant crime and poverty, and gangs have risen to power. But there is something bigger lurking, something as fierce and formidable as it is dark, something the world can't be prepared for. So what are some mere orphans and runaways going to do about it? A lot, apparently. </p><p>In a world completely comprised of Disney elements and characters, a rag-tag group accidentally becomes the best hope a hopeless people have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. There's No Shame in Hasty Retreats

**Author's Note:**

> Hello fair peoples!
> 
> So, after too many instances of feeling overwhelmed by unrealistic Disney happiness (don't get me wrong, I love Disney) I decided to fix some things with an AU. ...By messing up the world entirely. Whoops. (Not sorry.) 
> 
> I merged anything Disney I could possibly think of and re-structured it into a more modern setting. Hopefully, if I do this right, anything and everything in the story will be DISNEY. This will be quite the story, and characters will be added as we go. So here we go.
> 
> (By the way, I'm adding the prologue in with Chapter 1 because I hate it when the Archive chapters and my chapters don't line up.)
> 
> Enjoy!!!

**Prologue**

 

“She’s late.”

Three figures sat in a grand room, high vaulted ceilings crowded in dim light. Bookshelves and baubles and curios filled the room’s edges, but the scant three occupants made the room appear far too large. A single round table stood in the middle, the figures seated around it; one gilded chair remained empty. The speaker, a deformed looking creature that couldn’t be compared to any other, sat hunched, irritated; his foot tapped impatiently as he eyed the doorway.

The figure beside him, a thin and pale woman with inky black hair, rolled her eyes, unbothered. “She’s always late,” the woman muttered.

As if on cue, the door swung open with a decisive creak. A curved woman, cloaked, strode into the room with an air of authority. The others fell silent as she stood above the table, not bothering to sit. She slammed a piece of paper down on the slate surface, the heel of her palm digging into the parchment.

“What is this?” Her voice was smooth, and deceitfully quiet. Anyone could tell she was fuming—and the low spoken question was far worse than yelling. But her companions were not deterred.

A man who held himself with regality regarded the paper with interest, before his dark lips curved upwards in a pleased sneer. He took the paper, worn and fragile, from the hostile woman with long slender fingers. “This is magnificent…” he muttered.

The male beside him, more creature than man, huffed. “Big whoop. We’ve all known,” he sneered.

The hooded woman spun on him. “But we have not known the _location_ ,” she hissed. Her pale eyes, the color of ashen bones, flashed in anger. “So imagine my surprise when some _hound dogs_ know of this _before **me**_ **.** ” Her fingernails scraped against the smooth surface of the table, but no one flinched.

“Don’t look at me,” the creature growled. A tail-like appendage, a scaly thing the color of lavender, snaked its way around his figure to point at the pale woman next to him. “She was the expert here,” his scratchy voice informed, rather obviously.

All eyes looked to the unconcerned woman, who was admiring her own manicure. With an exasperated sigh, the woman flipped her inky hair over her shoulder, and she glared at the other woman with violet eyes. "What did you think I was going to talk about today?” she asked rather rhetorically. She laughed, the melodious voice turning to a cackling sound.

The standing woman narrowed her eyes dangerously. “I— _we—_ should have known sooner,” she snarled. “We could have had an army amassed _days_ ago.”

The tall dark skinned man hummed with displeasure. “We would move in to topple the place so soon, while we have watched Atlantica for ages?” The pale woman grunted in agreement.

The hooded woman, who now removed her hood to reveal a narrow face and thick dark hair, scowled. “Atlantica has been taken _care of_.” She looked at the other woman pointedly. “And it has nothing of value save for one thing that has been hidden away.” She took the piece of paper back, revealing itself to be an age-old map, complete with what looked to be Norse runes. “ _This_ is not something to take lightly. And thanks to _someone’s_ carelessness—” She raked her gaze across the others in the room, “Soon even the mercenaries will know. And I will _not_ lose this opportunity.”

“Woah there, take it easy,” the creature placated. “I’m sure Mr. Pointy-Beard over here didn’t mean that we wouldn’t leave immediately or anything.” He shared a glare with the other man briefly. “Besides, it was his hesitance that almost cost us Corona.”

The man stood abruptly, slamming his hands down on the table. “Now listen here—”

He was cut short when the dark haired woman, obviously the one in charge, hissed at both of them. “Corona has been _dealt with_ —now, we have something a little more… _tasteful_ on our hands, and I will not lose it to carelessness!” She glared at the creature. “Or have we not forgotten Russia?”

The creature dithered. “No…” he growled. “We haven’t…”

She calmed. “Good.” The woman regarded the map again. “We will act soon, trust me. We will move forward in no less than a month—I trust that is enough time to amass our forces?”

Three affirmatives, all at varying levels of certainty, sounded around the table. After all, they had all prepared for this moment, and hunger entered their eyes. The woman’s lips curved upwards, her eyes burning with voracity. “And when that happens…” She traced a finger over the map, chuckling to herself.

“Atlantis will be ours.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

**Chapter 1: There's No Shame in Hasty Retreats**

 

_November 11, 2016 – 3:42 p.m._

“Checkmate.”

“Wha—?! That was only, like, ten moves!”

“And all of your moves were terrible.”

“This is why I don’t play Chess with you.”

Two boys sat alone in the middle of the woods, comfortably seated in a tree with a beat up chess board. The sight may have been deemed strange by any passersby, but honestly, no one ever cared enough to check up on two orphans. For that is indeed what the two boys were, and the overcrowded orphanage at which they stayed—Sixth Street Home for Boys—hardly knew they existed, much less knew that they would often gallivant in the woods behind the country-side establishment.

And to a certain Chase Davenport and Jack Brewer, the woods were a far better improvement than the stuffed building full of moody hard-heads—and the kids weren’t much better. Perhaps there would have been an outcry to learn of the less-than-ideal conditions the children at Sixth Street lived in, but frankly, it was common; in a world as run down and weary as the one they lived in, orphanages were rampant and full. Not to mention, the American government could hardly afford to upkeep all of them—and that was _after_ the Great Merge with Canada and Mexico. A nuclear war tended to do a number on the political map.

But Chase and Jack were resigned to that; you didn’t tend to have a wonderful outlook on life when you were alone in a world like this. Not that either of the boys cared that much. No, they were content sitting on a hodge-podge platform built in a large oak tree playing old games that they commandeered from the orphanage. After six years, you learned how to make do—and at least they had each other as friends.

“God, Chase, I really hate you sometimes,” Jack grumbled as he flicked his makeshift king—an acorn—off of the board. The little nut bounced away and fell to the bottom of the tree. Chase watched it fall dryly.

“Seriously?” Chase gestured to the fallen acorn. “We were using that!”

“Oh, so the big-brained nerd doesn’t want to go get his acorn? You know, why do _I_ get the acorn, and _you_ get the real king piece? I feel this is just a, I don’t know, an _omen_ of my failure or something.” Jack crossed his arms and settled himself into the tree, showing his grumpiness.

“Come on, Jack, it doesn’t matter—besides, I won last time,” Chase pointed out.

Jack huffed. “Yeah, ‘cause you’re a _genius_ , dude. I don’t even know why I agreed to this.”

Chase jabbed him with an elbow. “’Cause you love me. Now how about you go get the acorn. I liked that acorn.”

With a dramatic eye roll, Jack sighed. “ _Fiiinne_.” Jack slowly got up, grudgingly… and then proceeded to literally _backflip_ out of the tree and land in a tight roll.

Chase shook his head with a fond smile. “What were you saying again, _showoff_?” he teased.

Jack picked up the acorn and promptly threw it at Chase’s head. Satisfied with the younger brunette’s unsophisticated yelp as it hit him in the forehead, Jack nimbly re-climbed the tree, giving a mock bow at the top. “You’re just _jealous_ , Brainy.”

“Remind me again who won—? Hey!” Chase narrowly dodged a flying chess piece, hearing the wood whistle past his ear. “What was that for?!”

“For being a smart-aleck.” Jack tilted his head with a pout. “Ya’ know—sometimes your reflexes are really annoying.”

The brunette sighed, rubbing a hand through his short messy hair. “Well, I’m sorry I can hear it coming…” he grumbled morosely.

Jack immediately dialed back, eyeing the younger boy. It was a sore spot for him, his… _enhancements_. It was Jack’s job to make him feel better about it—it wasn’t Chase’s fault that he was some… Bionic cyborg or whatever. (Yeah, no, Jack knew that wasn’t it.) It was complicated. Truthfully, from what he had told Jack, it was meant to save his life. Chase was born with severe mental disabilities and setbacks, and wasn’t even predicted to live; his father, a brilliant yet unsuccessful scientist by the name of Donald Davenport, implanted him with ‘bionics’ to save his life and reverse any disabilities. And it worked, too. But now Chase had, like, crazy good senses. So good Jack knew it drove the younger teen nuts—because it wasn’t like he was good at controlling his range of hearing or anything. Jack did have to admit that hearing Milton have stomach pains in the bathroom in the middle of the night must suck terribly.

Chase tilted his head, distracted. “Rapunzel’s coming,” he announced suddenly. Jack smiled: _that_ freaky little skill Jack would call a ‘benefit.’

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a petite blonde teenage girl approached their treehouse. Rapunzel was an anomaly. A couple of months ago, they had stumbled upon her in the woods, learning that the girl lived there… all alone. With only her mother. (A terribly over-protective mother at that.) It was there that Chase, Jack, and Rapunzel found common ground: neither had any friends. (Except for Chase’s and Jack’s own.) Ever since then she would visit from time to time in secret. Jack found her attachment a little creepy, personally, but she brought the best food.

“Hey Blondie!” Jack greeted cheekily. Rapunzel, in turn, scowled a bit—the nickname was not her favorite. Even then, Rapunzel did not look threatening. She stood at about five feet, four inches, which was three inches shorter than Jack himself—and only a scant inch below Chase. Her frame was rather thin, with a round lightly freckled face and giant emerald eyes. And yes, it was hard to take her anger seriously when it was placed on such an adorable face. But that wasn’t her most interesting feature. No, the fifteen year old girl had long, silky, golden hair—thick and luscious—that fell to her hips. Apparently, she didn’t have scissors in that little wooden cabin of hers.

She rolled her eyes, and lifted up a picnic basket. “I brought sandwiches!” she greeted, her voice as bubbly as always.

Chase smiled. “Come on up!” He reached down to take the basket from her hands, while she nimbly climbed up, despite her lavender leggings and sandals. She was a surprisingly good climber.

“Hey guys,” she smiled. Rapunzel settled herself into a crossed legged position, flipping her ridiculously long hair behind her. “What’s up?”

“Oh, you know, the usual: sleeping with a bunch of hormonal dudes, eating mush, beating Jack at chess…” Chase droned—even when Jack elbowed him in retribution. “You should know this by now, Sunshine—our life isn’t interesting.”

She sighed, twirling a strand of golden hair in her fingers. “Mine neither, I suppose…” she admitted. Then, Rapunzel visibly brightened (that was one of the reasons Chase insisted on calling her ‘Sunshine’) and pushed away any morose thoughts. “But it’s always nice to ask anyways!” Ah, Rapunzel: always the polite one.

A little bit of movement caught Jack’s eye, and a bit of green crawled onto Rapunzel’s shoulder. The creature moved forward, and set its stare at Jack. He shivered.

“Your frog is being creepy again,” Jack complained. In response, Rapunzel’s pet stuck its tongue out at Jack, almost as if the little stinker was bugging him on purpose!

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. “I told you, he’s a _chameleon_ ,” she corrected, while petting Pascal, who smiled contently. “And he’s just fine.” The chameleon was always by Rapunzel’s side; whether perched on her shoulder or riding on her head—or another body part—he was always _there_. Jack found it weird and highly disturbing. Where did one _get_ a pet like that anyways?

Jack made a face. “Yeah, well, he doesn’t like me…” he muttered. If Rapunzel heard him, she ignored him.

“Anyways…” Rapunzel diverted the subject as she dug through her hand-crafted basket. “I have a PB&J and a turkey and cheese.” She waved the sandwiches in the boys’ faces. “Who wants what?”

Jack snatched the turkey and cheese before Chase could move. “’anks ‘ond’ee” Jack thanked, his mouth full of food.

Chase took the remaining sandwich far more calmly. “Seriously, Rapunzel, you’re the best.” The fact that she was a wonderful cook notwithstanding, anything was better than the half-frozen mush they called food back at the Home. Not that he was able to eat it anyways; generally, Trent delighted in taking his food and dumping a pudding cup on his head.

Rapunzel smiled, and took out a sandwich for herself. Jack vaguely wondered how she was able to get away with bringing food out here and disappearing occasionally; hearing about Rapunzel’s mom, he doubted that she would be pleased with Rapunzel meeting with two strange orphans in the middle of the woods. Oh well.

They sat there in comfortable silence for a few minutes while Jack and Chase enjoyed real food; eventually, Rapunzel—ever the talkative type—broke it. “So…” she drawled. “How long have you two been here?”

The question startled Jack in its suddenness, and he nearly choked on a bite. Sure, they had met a few times before, and Rapunzel sure did ask a lot of questions, but she learned early on that neither of the boys were willing to share much about their pasts. It was always more comfortable finding another subject between the three of them, or simply playing card games. It was an odd relationship, they had with the forest-dwelling-girl. But apparently, Rapunzel wasn’t ready to stop prodding, which was annoying despite her well-meaning.

“A while,” Chase answered vaguely, much to Rapunzel’s chagrin. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.

“Come on, just answer my question for once?” she pleaded. Jack guessed even the ever-cheery girl could get annoyed with their aloofness. Well, _she_ was the one who kept finding them; it wasn’t any obligation on _their_ part. At least, this is what Jack told himself. Truthfully, he found Rapunzel’s presence refreshing. (Maybe that was because he hadn’t been around a girl his age in about five years.)

Chase rolled his eyes, but looked thoughtful. Jack caught his blue eyes and tilted his head in question; Chase stared back, uncertain; Jack shrugged. Finally, the younger boy sighed. “Six years. It’s been a while,” he answered. Rapunzel seemed surprised he chose to answer, and was struggling to balance the accomplishment and horror of the answer itself.

“Six?” Rapunzel swallowed thickly. “But- You’re only fourteen…”

Chase remained visibly unaffected, though Jack could tell that stormy look had entered his eyes. Jack shrugged nonchalantly. “Hey, it’s alright, it’s no big deal. Really.”

Rapunzel opened her mouth for a retort, but suddenly, Chase grew rigid and silenced her with a hand. She muffled in protest, but Chase was vigilantly ignoring her, his gaze fixed onto the woods.

Jack’s inner alarm bells began to ring. Yeah, Chase would often hear things far away, but it certainly wasn’t often that he looked so… _frightened_ about it. He was as tense as a bowstring, and possessed the countenance of a deer that sensed a wolf. Jack’s imagination ran wild with all of the things Chase could be hearing: orphanage officials off to drag them away, hoodlums ready to take them as easy pickings, some dangerous animal that was hungry for human flesh. (Okay, he was probably over-reacting.)

So instead, Jack attempted to play it off as something simple, which it probably was. “W-what is it, Lassie? Timmy stuck in a well?”

He expected Chase to glare and roll his eyes with his ever-present and ever-familiar annoyance, but Chase didn’t lose that panicked look in his eye. “Be quiet!” he hissed lowly, desperate. Something was really freaking him out. Chase had loosened his hold on Rapunzel, uncovering her mouth, and she looked increasingly worried.

“I-I don’t u-understand,” she whimpered quietly. “What’s w-wrong?”

Chase continued to stare off into the distance, senses fixated on something that horrified him. Jack felt just as nervous as Rapunzel. Chase getting like this was the equivalent of a dog barking at the unknown; it _could_ be nothing, but most of the time, it was definitely something. He really wished Rapunzel wasn’t here—then, maybe, he could question Chase more openly. But he would have to settle for subtly.

Jack stared Chase in the eye, wishing desperately to convey his unease. Chase returned the gaze, but his eyes flitted back to the woods. “Something’s coming,” he whispered timorously. Jack was really starting to get annoyed. If Chase didn’t start giving him real answers, or if this was another stray cat fight, he just might consider pushing the guy out of the tree.

Instead, Jack began to hear it too. Chase scrambled backwards, hands clamped over his ears as his breathing turned erratic. Jack understood immediately; the noise was worse than a mere rustling: there was a sound like a burning motor coupled with crushing leaves, all intensified to a mounting chaotic clamor. And to Chase, whose senses were currently heightened, that must have sounded like a blender in his ear. Rapunzel lifted her head, watching the distance warily.

“That’s a….bear….right?” she squeaked. Were Jack not slightly terrified himself, he would have sighed; of course the girl that lived in the woods wouldn’t actually know that there were no bears around these parts—and if there were, they wouldn’t sound like that. Granted, it was obvious she didn’t get out much. But that wasn’t important right now. Jack focused on the sound, getting closer, and fought the irrational side of his brain that wanted to run and hide. It was probably nothing; so he shouldn’t be scared like some child!

There was a crash, and the next thing he knew, Jack was three feet farther backwards. Chase was staring at him, wide-eyed, and wordlessly the two boys crept closer. A figure burst out from the brush, tall and wild. Jack hardly had the time to acknowledge the lurch over a cliff that his heart took before a jeep came crashing through next.

Any illusions that Jack had sustained that undermined the situation leapt after his heart once he truly laid eyes on the scene before him. A woman—tall and full-bodied like an Amazon—crouched low like a panther in front of the jeep, its occupants training guns on her. The woman was by no mean a damsel, however: her garments were torn and bloody, her silver armor scuffed. Her white hair, tangled, fell around her without order, and her muscles were fit and ready for battle. A wickedly curved blade in the pole of a spear was gripped at her side. The two in the jeep appeared just as rough. A man, behind the wheel, appeared to possess a body chiseled from stone, his jaw square and scarred. He had short gray hair, with dark bloodshot eyes that appeared small next to his strong nose; sweat coated his face and he had a vice grip on the steering wheel. His passenger was a woman, her appearance harried yet she was wearing a murderous scowl. Her blonde hair was swept behind her in a braid, tussled, and her lips were the color of blood. She carried a really big gun, finger hovering over the trigger as the warrior woman in front of the vehicle _growled_.

Jack was enamored by the scene, petrified by the pure shock of it all. Chase and Rapunzel were similarly frozen beside him, on either side. The blonde woman moved her dark eyes upwards, landing on the teens in the tree. The woman snapped her eyes back to the other woman, cornered and angry, but not before jabbing her partner with her elbows. “Kill the witnesses!” she hissed.

The man followed her previous gaze with malicious eyes, hardened past compassion, yet he allowed himself a grin as he pulled his gun upwards. “With pleasure.”

 

* * *

 

 

Two gunshots rang out nearly simultaneously. Each one split Chase’s ear like an ax. He threw himself to the side, pushing Rapunzel the other direction to get them both to safety and the proper momentum to do so. His brains rattled, both with the terrible screeching of the bullets slicing air and splintering the tree behind them and with the terror that consumed him. _They were being **shot at**_ —no one could tell him _not_ to be terrified.

But he had missed them, and that brought a glimmer of reprieve to his racing heart. There was an inhuman screech below him, and Chase was able to peer over the side just enough to see the white-haired woman launch herself at the other. Two more shots were fired sporadically, and his head absolutely _ached_. But that wasn’t important right now.

“We gotta’ get out of here,” he whispered urgently. Jack stared at him dumbly for a couple of seconds, too freaked out to comprehend his words, but luckily he snapped out of it.

“R-right,” Jack agreed. “How?!”

Chase gulped. There was a knot in his stomach kicking him, his ears was ringing, and he thinks his bladder hates him—but there shall be no speaking of that. He risked another glance down: now, the man and the white-haired woman were grappling, and the blonde woman was… Oh no.

Panic flared as the woman approached the tree, barrel of her gun trained upwards when she wasn’t glaring at the other woman. Chase scurried backwards, nearly trampling Rapunzel. “Climb down the back!” he urged.

Rapunzel stared at him with wide green eyes filled with horror. “ _What?!_ ” she nearly screeched. “You want to go _down **there**?!_ ”

Chase made a sound that was something between a strangled scream and a groan. “I don’t know! She’s coming up _here_ with a **_gun_**! At least down there we can _run_!” Now, he had absolutely no clue where they could run to, but his adrenaline wasn’t stopping to ask any questions.

“Sounds like a p-plan,” Jack conceded. “Less chance of dying.” He went to grab something, and Chase nearly screamed at him for stopping to get sentimental. But before he got the chance, Jack pulled out a smooth wooden bo staff. The one that his grandfather had given to him.

“A stick? Really?” Rapunzel squeaked. She glanced back towards the ground, where the woman trained her pistol upwards. Chase heard the round click into place.

“Whatever, just go!” Chase shoved Jack out of the tree (gratefully, the older brunette was used to this) and nearly dragged Rapunzel after him. Several shots fired into space in which they had been sitting mere seconds after they vacated.

He landed right next to Jack, hearing his heart beat even louder now that they were closer to the weaponized strangers. He froze, hearing dull thuds that either belonged to his heart or the punches that were being thrown; Jack grabbed his wrist and yanked him out of his petrified stupor before the scary blonde caught up. “Come on!” the eldest cried urgently.

The three took off at a dead run, but it only lasted all of four seconds before Chase tripped over a tree root and fell on his face. The woman was on top of them quickly, snarling as she aimed. In a moment of panic, Chase scrambled from his position on the ground and kicked her in the shin.

“You little shi—!” Her growl was cut short when Jack promptly swung his bo staff straight into her arm pit, her outstretched arms to her disadvantage. At this, because apparently being hit by children upset her greatly, the woman snarled even louder. Rapunzel had helped Chase off of the ground, and the three bolted past the woman, Jack jabbing his staff into her back. Ideally, they shouldn’t run _toward_ the danger but doubling back had been the best way to lose the lady at the time. Though she turned around _really fast_.

Chase screamed when the woman fired at them, the shots gratefully thrown in her anger so they ended up peppering the inanimate woods instead of _them_. However, in their haste to run from the gun-wielding madwoman, they run into the gun-wielding madman and the jungle woman he fought. The two paused in their struggle, eyes trained on the three vastly unlucky bystanders. The man narrowed his small dark eyes in frustration, and the woman stared with feral blue orbs; Chase didn’t know which was worse. To avoid colliding with the deadly duo of rivals, Chase skidded to a halt behind Jack, Rapunzel swerving to follow their example.

“Sinclair!” the man barked. “Deal with the pesky brats!”

The blonde woman—Sinclair—growled in return. “I am!” she shouted. With a snarl, she charged them. Someone squealed—it was either Rapunzel’s lizard or Jack—and Sinclair grabbed a hold of Rapunzel’s wrist. She twisted her arm behind her back, eliciting a scream from Rapunzel. Panicked, Chase took Rapunzel’s other arm and kicked at the woman in order to wrench his friend free. Sinclair stumbled backwards but swung a pistol towards his head in stride. Before Chase so much as had time to scream, Jack came flying in from the side. He barreled into the woman and struck her side with a lucky well-aimed jab. Who knew that having a grandfather as a karate sensei would _really_ come in handy? Jack flipped Sinclair, throwing her to the side and yanking the gun from her grasp. The woman fell right on her partner, allowing the white haired woman to free herself from their tussle.

The crazy jungle lady—clad in tribal-looking soiled clothing with a strange marking adorning her cheek—stared at them in a mixture of dread and gratitude. Before anybody had the chance to do anything, the man cocked his own pistol back and fired. The teens screamed as the bullet whistled past them, but Chase was on the ground, a very pale Rapunzel underneath him, before he knew it. The white-haired woman hovered above them, panting slightly. She shouted something at them urgently, but it wasn’t in English (or Spanish or German), so the words were lost on him. But not the tone, gratefully.

Chase scrambled up, Rapunzel after them, and Jack was pushing him faster within the next heartbeat. “Come on! We can lose them in the creek!” he whispered urgently. Jack nodded, knowing what he was talking about—since _he_ was the one to discover it. He and Jack had stumbled upon this wide creek a few years back, which ran down a mini ravine. Mini compared to rivers, but large enough to prove a problem for the inexperienced and jeeps. (Which was to say, yes, Chase had fallen in many times before—Jack too.) Hopefully Rapunzel would follow their lead.

An engine revved behind them, filling Chase with dread. The sound of their panicked footsteps crashing through the forest were drowned by the oncoming vehicle. “ _Get them!_ ” a voice hissed. Chase stole a glance backwards to see the hideous green open-air vehicle pursuing. When they took off, the crazy attackers must have hopped in their vehicle to ensure victory. But why were they chasing _them_?! The white-haired woman ran near them, in the same direction, occupied in her own flight. Why were they chasing her, anyways? Chase felt very small, and very confused, in this sudden stroke of terrible circumstance.

Suddenly, gunshots peppered the forest around them. Rapunzel screamed—Jack too—but Chase could hardly register anything as hot pain sliced his arm before he was roughly pushed to the side. The white-haired woman appeared beside him, yanking him along swiftly. Black spots danced across his eyes, and the dying echoes of his scream reverberated faintly in his pounding ears. God that _hurt_. _I just got **shot** , _he numbly realized. Any pain Chase had thought he felt paled now in comparison to the constant throbbing and burning sensation in his upper arm. He gasped as his woman and strange savior hefted him back to his feet before he knew he stumbled. Chase met her wildly bright blue eyes, ripe with concern. Concern? What happened?

 _You got shot_.

The realization hurt as much as the wound, but the woman kept him going. Chase blinked his eyes rapidly, his head pounding. The creek was coming up, he could see it barely through the haze of pain that clouded him. The burning sensation didn’t stop; he felt light-headed. Sinking in the throbbing that overtook his nerves, filling his body.

“ _Chase!_ ” Jack screamed. Chase squinted, stumbling. Jack was by his side now, too, brown eyes panicked. “We have to jump!” Jack’s voice was shaking. Jump? Jump what?

He blinked again. _The creek._ Crap. He was still running, amazingly, mostly dragged by the tall Amazonian lady. Chase ground his teeth, following Jack as they ran for the edge. He knew where the vine was—their only way to safety—but he couldn’t see it. All his senses could register was pain, fear, and the thrumming of the engine behind them.

Gravity tugged at his body, dragging Chase down. He screamed, but a hand caught his wrist and Chase fumbled with the vine with his injured arm, feeling pain sear through him, numbed only by adrenaline. They swung through the air, fear eradicating the thrill of flying over the dancing water. Chase hit the ground heavily, rolling to the side. Rapunzel grabbed his arm, saying something, but he was transfixed on the sight before him. The woman leapt like a panther, clearing the chasm without aid like it was a mere crack in the ground. The jeep, on the other hand, jerked upwards after hitting a thick root, and crashed into the side of the cliff, shaking the ground beneath them.

“—et up!” Chase focused on the voice late, but obeyed nonetheless. Rapunzel had tears streaming down her face silently, propelled by fright and terror. Chase got up, and he ran.

He wasn’t aware how long they ran, and honestly, there were times he thought he blacked out altogether; but his feet carried onwards dully and quickly, until his entire body numbed with exhaustion. Chase found a tree, and leaned heavily against it.

“God, you’re bleeding!” Jack appeared in front of him, his eyes wide and voice shaking.

“’M fine…” Chase mumbled, weakly trying shake Jack off. Why was he bleeding? He wasn’t bleeding. He was just tired… A firm hand latched onto his wrist, and his arm flared up in pain. Chase cried out involuntarily, and the pressure immediately released. Jack was still above him, looking pale. There were more voices, but Chase couldn’t focus on any of them: they were all so _loud_ yet everything was so quiet—like his ears were stuffed with cotton while on overdrive. Suddenly, there was pressure—a hand—on his arm, but it only felt warm. Chase slowly opened his eyes to a blue glow, and the mysterious woman in front of him.

“All is well,” she said, her voice strong and smooth. Huh, he didn’t think she spoke English… Oh well. That was the last thing he remembered before Chase drifted off to unconsciousness.

 

* * *

 

 

_5:16 p.m._

It had been a long time since Jack had known panic. As in, _true_ panic—fear inducing, life-rattling, unholy _panic_. But that record had promptly ended that day.

Witnessing crazy criminals or bounty hunters or something was bad enough; being chased and shot at by them was worse. In fact, Jack didn’t think it could get worse until Chase _got shot_. Now, a lot of screaming and panic later, Jack realized that it was only a graze to the arm, nothing major. At least, nothing major in terms of bullet wounds. But Jack considered any bullet wound to be a major thing. And Jack had never seen _that much_ blood exit his best friend before. Needless to say, Jack was a little shaken up.

“ _Jack!_ ” A sharp sting to the cheek drew Jack out of his stupor. Rapunzel was in front of him, cheeks red and stained with tears, and she was shaking. A choked sob left her throat. “Y-you weren’t responding, a-a-and Chase i-is still u-unconscious, a-and I’m s-sorry—”

“Hey, c-calm down,” Jack placated, though the action was undermined by his own tremoring voice. Had he really spaced out? Was that a symptom of shock? All Chase questions, and Chase couldn’t even answer them! He ran his fingers through his scalp, gripping at his hair like a lifeline. He stole another glance at Chase.

The younger teen was leaned against a tree, rather unceremoniously, breathing evenly. After running for what felt like an hour, half-dragging Chase the majority of the way, they finally stopped, assuming their pursuers far behind. Still, Jack feared they were still upon them, waiting to prey on their vulnerability. But they had to stop; Chase couldn’t keep going, literally, and Jack could hardly stay awake himself; Rapunzel was worse, practically dead on her feet.

Jack tried not to pay attention to all of the blood that was staining Chase’s t-shirt, but Jack took comfort in noticing that the bleeding had ceased. And that was another cause of shock. Jack should be immensely grateful, and he was, but witnessing a weird lady press a glowing rock to his friend’s skin and closing the majority of a wound was freaky. _Really_ freaky. If Jack had been in a better state of mind, he would have quizzed her about it, but that was hardly the first thing on his mind right now.

Chase stirred slightly, catching his attention. Jack leaned forward, keen on his friend’s movements, as the younger brunette finally re-entered wakefulness.

“Wha—What happened…?” he asked drowsily, still discombobulated.

“How are you feeling?” Rapunzel asked quickly, kneeling beside him. Chase blinked owlishly, his confusion still evident.

“Feeling…?” he repeated slowly. “Why—?”

“You got shot, you idiot!” Jack answered with no lack of emotion in his voice, despite the words.

Jack could see the memory dawn in Chase’s blue eyes mere moments afterward. Chase hastily scrambled in his position to gaze upon his arm, which was content now with being an angry scar—which was a few steps above an open wound. “What the—” Chase stammered in surprise. “How long was I asleep?”

Jack almost brought it to himself to be amused with the irrational fear of unconsciousness Chase possessed, but it wasn’t the right time. Instead, Jack passively jerked a thumb in the woman’s direction. “Miss Magic Lady over there healed you with a glowing rock,” he deadpanned, already passed his initial shock but not quite at any sliver of understanding yet.

This time, Jack did find some amusement in the immediate furrowing of Chase’s brows. “That’s not possible,” the boy laughed nervously, though adamant. Ah, Chase: always the scientific one. “What really happened?”

The woman herself answered before Jack could repeat himself. She moved forward, softly, whilst fingering a small blue crystal hanging about her neck. “No, your friend speaks truth,” she answered. “I used the power of my homeland to close your wound.”

“And you would like to share _how_ you did that light show, right?” Jack cut in, impatient. He knew Chase would ask the same thing, even in his frazzled state, and Jack was more than willing to help him out by demanding answers.

“Who _are_ you, anyway?” Rapunzel added. Her brow was furrowed into a hard line, her mouth set similarly.

The woman sighed. “I am Kidagakash Nedakh,” she answered. “And I healed him with this—” She held the crystal that swung about her neck up for the teens to see. “It possesses a fraction of the power of Atlantis, my home.” Her voice broke slightly—miserably—at the last part, Kidagakash’s eyes averting downward.

“Atlantis?” Jack repeated. “That place isn’t real.”

Rapunzel appeared interested. “I have read many theories about Atlantis, but no one has ever proven to be there…”

“Well, it is no longer,” the woman replied heavily, if a little curtly.

“Whoa, wait,” Chase interjected. “So, let’s say this place _is_ real, why are you here and how did you close human flesh with a rock?”

The Atlantean furrowed her brow. “I am afraid I cannot do well to explain the Crystal’s power in terms you want to hear. It is—was—the heart of Atlantis. It was a part of us, and us a part of it; it protected us, and we protected it. That protection has always included the art of healing, though I will admit, I wasn’t sure if it would work on you.”

Jack was speechless. Sure, guys with guns were one thing, but mystical Atlanteans with magic healing rocks? That was another thing entirely. One would even say it was impossible. But as Jack looked over Chase—his _bionic_ best friend with the instantly closed wound—Jack was more willing to believe it. (Rapunzel, on the other hand, was still gaping.) Yet still, Jack found the concept fantastical. “How come Atlantis isn’t on _Travel Zoo_ or something? Or the number one tourist destination?” Jack asked dryly.

Chase appeared thoughtful. “If a place like Atlantis _did_ exist, wouldn’t we hear about it?” Well, that was the boring way to question her.

Regardless, the woman grew frustrated, though there was a hint of weariness in her mannerisms—a hopelessness of sorts. “Atlantis was hidden away, safe, where humans could not interfere nor take what is not theirs.” Jack detected some venom in her voice; as a human, Jack pondered whether or not he should be offended.

“Yep. Humans suck alright,” Chase agreed in a low, dry voice. Okay, they did have a point.

“So Kidakapa- Er, Kidagoke- Kida—can I call you Kida?—how exactly did you magical city get plundered if it was hidden away?” Jack probed. Even if he would agree that maybe Atlantis was real, Jack wasn’t ready to give in yet; there were a lot crazies out there.

Kida narrowed her crystal blue eyes at him. “These humans, they were mad! How they stumbled upon my people, I don’t know, but they were savage! Tearing down everything in their sight. And their forces… their forces could not be stopped by our own.” She gave Jack a keen stare, inspecting him. “Since when did you humans become so advanced?”

Chase cut in before Jack could say something that he would undoubtedly believe was stupid, but Jack supposed that might be a good thing. “What kind of weapons did they have?” he asked instead of answering.

“They… could make a building implode with a press of button. Green and red lights sliced through our defenses like it was water, they had vehicles much faster than the one that you defeated, and projectiles that killed hundreds with small stones,” she tried to describe, eyes glazing over at reliving the horror of the attack.

“Okay, uh,” Chase fumbled for words. “That sounds freaky.” Jack agreed; green and red lights? What was that? _Star Wars_?!

“Why were those guys chasing you anyways?” Rapunzel asked, her voice soft in sympathy.

Kida’s eyes darkened. “They and their people wished to wipe Atlantis from the Earth. I—I cannot say what exactly happened, but when I emerged from the rubble there was nowhere to go but to run.” She said this bitterly, as if the act of running was a terrible deed. “They were not satisfied with survivors, and pursued me ever since.”

“Who would do something like that?” Rapunzel breathed, horrified and incredulous.

“I cannot say that I know, but…” Kida worried her lip, in thought. “They said… When they came, they… called themselves a—a _dragon_.”

Jack arched a brow. Okay, first it was Atlantis, and now it was dragons. If it was anyone other than a tall woman bearing a magic rock telling him this, he might’ve laughed. But considering that that _was_ the case, _and_ they had been chased moments prior, Jack didn’t feel up to mentally arguing the concept; he was always one to give the benefit of the doubt anyways.

However, despite the odd and pregnant pause that followed the statement, no one said anything. No one had the chance, for it was then that Chase tensed.

“I hear something—voices, I think,” Chase hissed. He had that glossy-eyed look he got when he was hearing things—really _far_ things. He was concentrating. And Jack had every single reason to believe him.

“Come on, let’s go.” It was fight or flight, and Jack _really_ didn’t want to put that ‘fighting’ aspect up to the test. Not if they were armed.

“But—” Rapunzel’s rebut died on her lips, confusion and uncertainty in her eyes. Jack had already picked up, helping Chase up to his feet. Kida, appearing to be straining her own senses, followed suit.

In quiet unity, the four of them swiftly left the sight.


	2. A Little Bit of Daring and a Whole Lot of Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase, Jack, Rapunzel, and Kida aren't out of the woods yet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not as long as the first chapter but... Meh.

_November 11, 2016 – 9:47 p.m._

 

It was dark now. Rapunzel shivered to think of all of the invisible eyes watching them from the shadows. They were still in the woods, headed westward—away from home. _Her_ home. Anytime the four of them had paused to catch a breath, Chase had heard some imagined danger and everyone hurried off again.

Rapunzel wrapped her arms closer still to her body. It was cold, and the lavender sweater that she had worn for that sunny afternoon had promptly became insufficient. Not to mention that she was tired, she couldn’t feel her feet anymore, and she hadn’t the slightest clue what on earth they were going to do. To say that it was disconcerting was an understatement.

The dark trees, once beautiful, pressed against her in the night. Something growled, instigating alarm, but Rapunzel quickly realized it was her own stomach. She hadn’t had dinner yet. “Maybe we should take a break?” she whispered uncertainly, not wanting to break the eerie sounds of the nighttime forest.

The other three paused and looked to each other before looking back at her. Everyone appeared just as tired as she felt, with perhaps the exception of Kida—for the ‘Atlantean’ woman seemed much too able bodied and nonchalant when it came to expressing weakness.

With a tilt of his head, Chase shrugged. “Might as well,” he replied cautiously, as if waiting for something to jump out at them. Nearly every time they had stopped, it had been Chase to raise the alarm that something was coming; as much as Rapunzel trusted him, she was beginning to fear for his sanity. They _all_ were jumping at shadows, at this point.

She leaned heavily against a tree, allowing her gelatin legs to quit. A deep rumbling was almost enough to command her tired body back into function, but she numbly realized it was just her stomach. Oh gosh, they had missed dinner…

Pascal grumbled into her ear, sharing the sentiment. The chameleon had hid himself with much fervor during their flight, so well that Rapunzel had nearly feared she left him on accident, but once things calmed the reptile made himself and his grumpiness known. “I’m sure this will be over soon, buddy,” Rapunzel assured him softly. “And then you can eat all the salad you want.”

“Word of advice: don’t talk about food when there is none,” Chase put in sourly. Rapunzel swiveled her head to face the brunet, who was crossed-legged against a tree to her left.

“Well, one can hope, right?” Rapunzel bit back. Frankly, she was getting a little cross at Chase’s constant persistence that they were all doomed. Whenever she tried to liven the mood, it was squashed later by Chase.

Jack, laying on his back, huffed. “Don’t let him bend you out of shape, Blondie.” Finally, someone else who wasn’t in concordance with the foul attitude. “But he is right.”

Oh, why did she bother?

Rapunzel sighed deeply, trying to do her best to ignore her protesting body. “Maybe they went away?” she tried.

Chase scoffed, eliciting a glare from her. Before a very cross (and mind you, tired and hungry) Rapunzel could respond, Jack broke in.

“Hey, well, we’re alive, right? Let’s keep it that way.” Jack ran a hand through his hair, voice terse. Sensing Jack’s own worry, and now noticing Chase was worrying his lip in a similar sentiment, Rapunzel quieted, realizing that she had gotten upset, when the others were upset too.

Rapunzel figured the best way right now was to help the others; it was the right thing to do, and it would take her mind off of the worries they were all feeding on. Because surely, things couldn’t remain like this—good triumphed in the end, and good meant happy safety.

Pascal was still carrying on beside her, rather dramatically lamenting his discomfort. About this time, he would normally be content in his roost while they watched a show together or perhaps read. No, she couldn’t think about that just yet. “Hang in there, little buddy,” she quietly soothed the chameleon. The reptile seemed to capture the tone of her words, and calmed marginally. Contented, Rapunzel raised her eyes and swept her gaze over the group with something of a motherly intent. It was then that Rapunzel was reminded of Kida—the strange woman who claimed to be Atlantean. She had been awfully quiet, yet they all owed her so much. It was only right that they talk to her.

Rapunzel sidled closer to the woman, eying her with a soft curiosity. “What was Atlantis like?” she couldn’t help but inquire. At this, Chase and Jack managed to open their eyes, equally curious.

Kida adopted a far-off look in her crystal blue eyes, though there was a level of wistful pleasure among the sadness in her gaze. “It was beautiful,” the woman reminisced. “The city was carved of white stones, spiraled into a tall mountain. Children played in the streets, women danced, and men enjoyed the company of others. Great stones circled our city, and the views from them were magnificent. The waters around us were always illuminated by the Crystal, and darkness never fell—not like it does here…” Kida faded off, casting her gaze to the moon with a wishful look.

Chase had leaned forward to hear Kida’s story. “What is the Crystal?” he asked.

This snapped Kida from her thoughts, and she regarded Chase with a strange look Rapunzel couldn’t ascertain. “It is the treasure of my people,” she finally responded, somewhat curt.

After this, they relapsed into a weary silence. Rapunzel, though her body felt exhausted, couldn’t bring it to herself to relax when her stomach continued to remind her of her negligence. So, despite the weakness of her legs, Rapunzel rose to her feet with purpose.

As soon as she did so, she found that Chase—despite closed eyes—was not asleep. “Where are you going?” he asked, eyebrows drawn in confusion.

“To find something to eat,” Rapunzel replied, with no lack of emphasis. He raised a brow at her, apparently finding her normal task odd.

“How?”

Well, if this fiasco taught her anything, it was that Chase was really inquisitive.

She shrugged. “There has to be berries around here. Besides, it’s not like we should go without eating.”

He returned the shrug. “Doesn’t mean it’s not possible. I wouldn’t hope too hard, though,” the brunet responded. Rapunzel sighed, reminding herself not to get worked up over Chase’s pessimistic tendencies.

“Should you really go out alone?” It was Jack this time, his voice laced with worry. She supposed she saw his point… Her mother always did warn that the unknown was the worst enemy; and the dark certainly held a lot of unknowns. Thinking of this, she gulped slightly.

“I…guess you’re right…” she admitted. Not because she was afraid of the dark (certainly not) but rather that she valued Jack’s opinion… Yeah, that was it. Besides, she _was_ really tired, and needed to rest if she was going to make it back home. And it was true that there were those brave people out there who had to could go without a meal, so why couldn’t she?

Her failed trip justified, Rapunzel returned to her spot and happily closed her eyes against the darkness and the hunger.

 

* * *

 

Chase had once thought, erroneously, that life couldn’t possibly get any worse. Such were the thoughts of a lonely little eight-year-old, crying to himself in an empty orphanage room. Well, guess he was wrong.

He prodded at the closing bullet wound absently.

Really wrong.

Leaning further into the tree, Chase tried to take a moment to just _breathe_. It was surreal, what was happening, but the more he thought about it they realer it got. And he couldn’t stop thinking—about the direction they were running, about the details of the two chasing them, about the strange ‘Atlantean’ woman in their troop, about where they would go, about how they would _survive_. And, the occasional reflection about _how the heck they got into this mess._

It was a little overwhelming, to say the least.

That, coupled with his overloading senses, made it impossible to relax. He could hear—actually _hear_ —the deepened breathing of Rapunzel, who looked asleep, notice the fidgeting of Jack, who was trying to find a comfortable position, and Kida was just…staring. But no folks, that was nothing compared to every single little bug and bird that came alive in the forest. Who ever said the forest was quiet was an _idiot_. A deaf idiot.

Chase rubbed ears, willing desperately for the cicadas to _shut up_. Ever since they had been nearly smacked in the face with imminent death, his already erratic senses—thanks to the ‘enhancements’ to his previously screwed up brain—had catapulted into frenzied overdrive. Which roughly translated to everything being _super loud_. Colors were brighter, bolder, and he could even _smell_ his own sweat (and Jack’s) mixed with pine and bird droppings to a degree Chase wasn’t comfortable with. And all of it was giving Chase a massive headache.

On the bright side, his pounding head distracted him from the constant stream of thoughts about their screwed-to-high-heaven situation. Well, mostly; other times, the crazed stream of consciousness wormed its way into his mind anyways. It was driving him _crazy_. He desperately wished for it all to go away, but it was still there. That was his fate, he supposed. Gee thanks, universe!

Resisting the urge to scream to himself, Chase took precisely twenty-two deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. His breath was loud. In. Out. Focusing on one thing helped; it eased his tumultuous mind. Chase sagged against his tree, closing his eyes.

They were probably never going to go back.

The thought was sudden and unbidden, and was almost enough to make Chase open his eyes again. Its conception was simple enough though; either they died, were forced to become runaways of some sort, or he and Jack might be able to choose to turn back when the waters receded.

He wasn’t really sure if they would go back.

It was absurd to think otherwise; where the heck would they go? But strangely enough, Chase found that lying here by a tree was more comfortable than a squeaky bed with the threat of noogies and humiliation in the morning. Of course, it was relative… Unreliable though it was, the orphanage still had working _heat_. It was a strange and detached train of thought Chase found himself on, but he found it all the same.

Who was he kidding, they would die out here.

Chase heard something ‘snap’ in the distance and flinched. It was probably a squirrel, but now, everything was either the two buff goons or a gun—and neither were particularly pleasant. His stomach rumbled faintly, but Chase was good at ignoring it. Perhaps he shouldn’t have snapped back at Rapunzel like that… It was the truth, though. Well, it was too late for regrets, so he might as well suck it up.

Tired of all these stupid thoughts, Chase desperately tried to drown out the world and just _sit there_. He was already resigned to the fact that he wouldn’t sleep—and he wasn’t sure he wanted to—but that didn’t mean he wanted to sit here and _think_ , because thinking right now was akin to preparing for death.

Gee, Cicero really _did_ know what he was talking about.

Despite all odds, though, Chase did find some sort of quiet daze to drift to…

 

* * *

 

_4:31 a.m._

Chase had almost succeeded in staying like that, too, if it weren’t for intuition. There was a distinctly metallic _tick_ , echoing now in his mind and snapping him from his rest, and some straining later proved heavy _clumps_ that Chase could only guess were footsteps. Shit.

Turning, Chase instantly grabbed Jack’s ankle and shook it. The older teen (by only four months, thank you) grumbled incoherently, before opening his dark eyes. “Time to go,” Chase declared as soon as Jack showed signs of recognition. A spark of confusion passed by (denoting grogginess) before Jack was on his feet.

Rapunzel groaned, turning over and blinking slowly from sleep. “What did you say?” she yawned.

Chase stood up, trying to remain firm. “I _said_ that it’s time to go.” He could hear the thumps getting louder, and Chase had to swallow his panic. “They’re coming.”

She looked around, disorientated. “But I don’t…”

“Listen, you heard the guy, let’s go!” Jack cut in, edgy.

Kida stared into the darkness intently, and Chase wondered if she could hear them too. He supposed that would make sense, her not being human and all. (Wow, that was weird to think about.) Not that he should be thinking at a time like this… “Seriously, we should move.”

Rapunzel huffed. “You know what? I’m tired of this! I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I want to go home. _You’re_ —” She jabbed a finger in his direction. “—just jumping at shadows! So tell me again _what’s coming…_  a _bunny_?!”

Yikes, she was upset. “I’m serious!” Chase all but screamed. “I can hear his footsteps; don’t question me, just value your life and _run_!”

There was a whistling, then a great _crack_. The tree Chase was just standing next to splintered, bark flying everywhere as the bullet impacted. There was some screaming that went around, and Chase wasn’t comfortable admitting just _who_ screamed, but it happened all the same.

“ _RUN!_ ”

This time, the general consensus agreed with him.

They tore out of there, with little mind to where they went. In hindsight, it was embarrassing; in the shadow of crisis, they were little better than scared deer. The only thing they _did_ do was stay roughly together, and even that was debatable.

Chase could hear the pounding of his heart as he ran, which all but drowned out their pursuers completely; yet, there was a sixth sense that still screamed of danger. He headed straight toward the trees, which was to say, in a random direction. Chase couldn’t ascertain how long he ran like this, for when one is in a blind frenzy, there is no other recognition. However, graciously, Chase became aware of Jack secondly.

They were running in the same direction, though a ways apart. Jack’s gait was swift and erratic, his strides interrupted by long lulls and punctuated by thuds—he was leaping through the forest like a hunted deer. They all were. Gunshots peppered the shadowed spaces, their pursuers no longer worried about conserving ammo in the forsaken reaches of the night. Morning. Whatever. Vaguely, Chase wondered just how many bullets they were packing, because they have been at this for a while… “Jack! I have an idea!” he yelled.

There was a couple of heartbeats of silence before Jack was closer to him. Chase wasn’t sure if it was intuition or some innate sense of smell or knowing that told him Jack was hopeful and fearful at the same time. “We can outlast them, I think,” Chase panted. Even though it was dark, Chase could see Jack’s bemused glare.

“You’re insane!”

“No! I’m serious! We just have to make them pull their fire.”

“You’re _beyond_ insane!”

Chase was seriously wondering that, but it was as good as an idea he had at the time. “They can’t kill us if they don’t have any bullets.” Chase and Jack immediately ducked to the sides as another round was shot off.

There was a pregnant pause, but Chase knew that Jack conceded. “Okay, but if you kill us faster, I’m gonna’ kill you back.” They were dead men anyways, so they might as well make sport of it.

“Just go that way!”

They split up again, Jack headed straight to the left while Chase rounded back to the right, until he was headed backwards and somewhere to the right of their attackers. Somewhere between the pain, fear, and exhaustion, Chase’s brain snapped on; his emotions were naught but a dull roar in the background, and only possibilities, ideas, and probabilities fluttered around his mind like a frenzied processor. Later, Chase would openly agree that it was the worst idea he had ever come up with, but sanity is never present in the face of death.

Focusing, Chase forced himself to hear something other than his own heartbeat and found heavy footsteps instead. The man, he assumed. Who else would be clomping around? He bent down and stole up a few rocks, throwing them in a few random directions. It was a good thing aim wasn’t precisely needed, because he didn’t have it. Two rocks hit trees and only one hit the ground.

A few reactive bullets were sent toward the rock’s falling place, and more random noises Chase could sporadically deploy were soon targets of lead. It was risky, to assume that he wouldn’t shoot at Chase himself. In fact, the hard-jawed man did several times; it was some combination of his frustration and Chase’s slivers of luck that Chase wasn’t hit. …Again.

By some other miracle, it seemed Jack had drawn the woman’s fire too. Or it was a combination of him and the other girls—he had absolutely no idea where _they_ were and that was a terrifying thought in itself. Nevertheless, he could hear random gunshots a ways from him as well as those around him.

Chase circled back and run ahead, trying to now distance himself from his own bogie. The man was yelling now, cursing with a sailor’s mouth, but Chase could barely hear him—his shouts were quiet compared to his heavy footfalls and screaming bullets. However, Chase was so focused on the man’s pursuit that he didn’t notice the meaty log in his way until he was falling through the air and tasting leaves.

Feeling the panic helplessness brings beginning to rise again, unwarranted, Chase scrambled to find his feet only duck behind the log as truer shots rang around him, splintering the troublesome log violently.

He was cornered, and there was no greater fear. It was an animal’s fear, and an animal’s fear is far more pure and potent than a human’s.

However, there was a blessed sound.

_Click. Click click click._

The gun had run out of bullets.

“Son of a _bi_ —” The curse was cut short by the shrieking of metal. Chase dared to lift himself from his position only to see a knife glinting in the pallid moonlight. Chase tried to get moving again, only to find that the unplanned break had removed a large portion of momentum from his stride.

The man advanced, his eyes angry and as cold as the wicked blade he wielded. He caught up to Chase rather quickly in their short distance apart and swung _hard_. Chase, on instinct he didn’t know he had, ducked the reckless blow, leaving the knife to imbed itself in some poor pine. He growled, yanking it free, but didn’t get far.

Suddenly, the man gave a short cry, jolting forward. It took a moment, but Chase finally registered that it was _Jack_ that was behind him, his leg sweeping to the side in the ending motion of one of his leg-kick-things. (Chase didn’t care what it was called at the time, only that Jack did it.) The man turned hostilely towards Jack with a growl, and Jack, for all his skill as a karate student, opted to slug him in the face. There was a series of cursing, ending with the man going for Jack’s neck, but Chase managed to fling himself at the gunman’s back.

There was a moment of disorientation, with two desperate teenagers and a pissed terrorist both trying anything their bodies could think of to come out on top.

It ended with Jack and Chase bolting off into the forest clinging onto the man’s knife as he pursued with relentless curses.

“Is Brick-face still on our tail?” Jack called from beside him. Chase dared a look back, keying in on the man’s silhouette—‘Brick-face’ as Jack so eloquently named him.

“Yep!”

Jack just released some unintelligible noises as they kept running. After hope was beginning to return that maybe they could outrun him, Chase couldn’t help but to think that they were probably leaving Rapunzel and Kida behind in the dust. In the dark. With the _other_ homicidal maniac.

“We gotta’ lose him!” Chase strained. He could feel Jack’s exasperation.

“That’s what you said the first time!”

“ _Argh_!” Chase’s frustration was immense. There seemed to be no way out of this, and Rapunzel was probably lost or dead. Or both. Kida might be alive. It was then that he spotted a tree, with a low-ish bearing branch opposite to them. Jack probably couldn’t see it, so he had to shove his friend in that direction. “Tree!” he articulated acutely. “Up!”

Jack scrabbled in front of him, cursing constantly as he struggled to find footing. Perhaps letting the one with the human sense of sight and not whatever he had in front of him wasn’t the _best_ idea, but it was too late now. By some miracle (the same way they survived thus far), he and Jack made it far enough up the tree, and the heavy foot-steps of Brick-face kept going. Finally, Chase felt like he could breathe.

“We lost him!” Jack whispered excitedly.

Chase held his face in his hands as he gathered his composure, feeling his body shake with the remnants of adrenaline. “Yeah, and the girls…” he grumbled. Jack froze in agreement.

Jack seemed to snap out of their despondent moment quicker though, nudging Chase in the shoulder. “Can’t you, like, _listen_ for them or something?”

That…was a possibility. Chase hadn’t really stopped to consider just how much ‘listening’ he had been doing lately, but it had definitely been past his normal ‘I-can-hear-random-noises’ range. Huh. “I suppose…” he answered slowly, already trying to focus again. It wasn’t too hard to find, once he put his mind to it—especially since it was a struggle in the middle of a sleeping forest. There was definitely a fight going on, probably with the evil Marylin Munroe; and since there weren’t any resonating screams, and that it had so far lasted more than ten seconds, Chase was willing to bet it was Kida fighting and not Rapunzel. (Not that Chase doubted Rapunzel or anything… wait, he did. She never struck him as violent in any shape or form.) 

Chase was strongly considering jumping down with Jack to try to help even if that might end in their deaths, when the sounds stopped. Instantly, he was nervous. Were they dead? Wounded? Bleeding out into the forest? Silence is the perfect impetus for an imagination to wander into dark places.

“What’s going on?” Jack urged, breaking him from his thoughts.

“I don’t know. There was a fight, but it stopped—” Jack took it upon himself to decide for Chase, leaping down from their perch before Chase could even get another word out. With an exasperated sigh (which was completely involuntary), Chase followed him, soon taking the lead since Jack actually had no clue where he was going, especially in the dark. However, it was when they neared the location that that rock sank in Chase’s stomach again.

“Wait!” Chase hissed under his breath, pushing Jack into a tree. (That was by accident, he swears.) “We can’t just barge in there!”

He could practically _feel_ Jack’s roll of the eyes. “What else can we do, man?” Jack droned. “Twiddle our thumbs?”

Chase ignored Jack in favor of listening. He couldn’t focus on the voices, though he suspected they were there, because his ears thought they were content with only picking up the shuffling of feet and other primal noises and murmurs. Or crickets. Damn those crickets. _Come on Chase, focus!!_ he berated himself.

It was two women speaking, as if that wasn’t obvious enough, and one was quivering. Rapunzel. That was definitely Rapunzel.

“Umm, there’s Rapunzel and—” He should have waited until he was sure of the second person before narrating the situation to Jack, because his ever impulsive best friend was now already moving towards the two.

There was a loud grunt, and then a shriek. Figuring things couldn’t get worse, Chase rushed after Jack, having absolutely no clue what he would do to help.

The sight was almost comical once he got there.

Jack was mutteringly indignantly under his breath as he picked himself up from the ground, Kida standing apologetically above him. It took a second, but Chase figured what must have happened: Kida fought with Marilyn Mu-Crazy, won, but Jack (being the impulsive hero he is) ran in to help only to accidentally attack Kida. Who totally schooled him.

Chase offered the psychotic woman’s body a glance; she was still breathing, that much he could hear, but there was no telling what Kida did to her in close-range combat. He decided he didn’t want to know. However, it brought to mind that her partner was still running around somewhere dreaming of murder. “We should keep moving and get some distance between us and these guys,” Chase suggested, still staring at the crumpled body in some mix of mild horror and immense relief.

“That seems wise,” Kida agreed slowly, deliberately. Chase noted that the Atlantean seemed off, but he figured it was because she was just locked in a brawl.

They picked a random direction that led away from the psychos, and stuck to it. Their passage was quickened by anxiety, paranoia, and the remnants of adrenaline, but it eventually became just as aimless as their previous flight. It _was_ the wee hours of the morning, after all.

But they needed distance. Chase would feel _way_ more comfortable to know that the gun-wielding serial killers were a long way away, where they couldn’t track or shoot them. Then, with those freaks off their backs, things could return to normal. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Or rather, a sound.

_Click-chunk, click-chunk, click-chunk._

A train.

One that was slowing down, by the sound of it. “Hey, I gotta’ idea,” Chase announced, breaking the silence. He suddenly veered off to the side, forcing the others to follow him.

“What are we looking for?” Rapunzel asked timidly, after Chase spent the next five minutes walking, trying to find the nearby train. (Apparently, it wasn’t as close as he thought—super hearing tended to warp one’s sense of distance a little.) Nevertheless, Chase spotted the track past a small grove.

“There!” he pointed triumphantly. “We can hop on the train until we put a lot of distance between us and the gunmen.”

Jack barked a laugh, a lop-sided grin stretching on his face. “Why, Chase Davenport, agreeing to live the life of a hobo? I thought you said hopping on a train would _never_ work because of—”

Chase was glad it was dark, because then nobody could see the red flare up on his cheeks. “That was a long time ago…” he muttered. Back when he and Jack were naught but children, ready to run away from their troubles together. Jack had suggested they do what the movies did and hop on a train like a hobo, except Chase had thought (at the time) that a ‘hobo’ was some sort of clown, and that getting on a train would automatically make them one because of…reasons… He was nine, okay!

“Whatever, let’s just get on,” Chase grumbled. “Help me find an opening.”

Turns out, not all the cars were wide open and empty like cartoons were apt to depict them. Most were closed storage cars, made of welded shut metal. However, it seemed that Lady Luck was rather fond of them today, and she decided to humor them once more. Towards the back of the train, Chase spotted an open-topped car half-filled with hay. “There’s one, back there,” he gestured.

“So, do we just jump?” Rapunzel asked, looking every bit ready to do it.

Were they supposed to _just jump_? That sounded like the perfect way to die. Which would really be ironic after surviving homicidal maniacs. Crap, this wasn’t thought through…

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Jack backed up a few steps and ran towards the car before Chase could yell after him. The older brunet leaped onto a boulder, and then a bigger one, and launched himself at the smooth-sided cart, latching onto the edge and swinging himself in. Chase tried not to let his jaw hang. How were they supposed to do _that_?!?

Rapunzel obviously thought she could, because she was following Jack’s example before he could blink. He was very sure she was going to die, not possessing Jack’s uncanny luck, but she nimbly swung off of an oak branch and onto the car, with Jack hauling her up, before he could blink. And now… Now his window was closing.

Cursing under his breath, Chase ran after them. Kida was right behind him, he could sense, and probably should’ve been in front of him because Chase no longer knew what he was doing. At all. He shifted his course and ran towards the front of the train, scrambling up a tree near the trap. Kida simply vaulted into the car without much aid, pulling herself in with supernatural strength.

Chase steeled himself. Yeah, the train wasn’t moving that fast, but he still pictured all the different ways he could become a Chase-pancake somewhere if he missed. Okay, no time to panic, it was coming. Actually, that was the _perfect_ time to panic.

_Deep breaths Davenport_. Squeezing his eyes shut, Chase pushed himself from his perch and expected the worst. He hit the hay, _hard_ , and tumbled. Wasn’t hay supposed to be soft?!

He was rolling, causing his eyes to fling open to see the world spinning around him. Chase collided into a body with an “ _Oomph!_ ” before managing to stop his decent.

“Ouch, man!” Jack cried indignantly, rubbing his arm. Apparently, it was Jack that he rolled into. He could live with that.

After his head stopped spinning, Chase shrugged innocently. “Not my fault,” he deflected. “We all lived, didn’t we?” And honestly, Chase was still _very_ surprised at that little fact.

The four of them seemed to take a moment to dwell on that very fact for the next few minutes. Rapunzel fixed her head off towards the distance and stared pensively. Jack fiddled with some hay, head turned towards his lap, while Kida blinked towards the sky. And it was she that broke the silence.

“You didn’t have to come with me,” Kida spoke, solemn. Her crystal blue gaze swept across them. “It was my fight, not yours.”

Jack shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. Chase could tell the gesture was unsure though. None of them knew what they were doing—not really. “Yeah, well, it became our problem, too,” Jack answered, leaning back. “What else were we supposed to do?”

“Yeah,” Chase piped up. “It’s not like anyone can ‘undo’ being chased like that.”

However, Kida’s expression only darkened. Rapunzel was the one to sidle closer to the Atlantean.

“It’s not that bad,” she soothed, though sounding quite unsure of herself. “We made it together, and we’ll get out of this together.”

Yep: they were definitely in this mess together. And together, yet independently, the four cast their gazes upwards in silent reflection. How they were going to get out of this was yet to be determined. Chase had been so sure they weren’t going to make it out of the forest alive, yet here they were, breathing the morning breeze and riding to the rising dawn over the horizon.


	3. Welcome to Smalltown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finally makes it to civilization, where things should be safe. Theoretically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh... Sorry guys. If anyone had cared to read this before, I apologize for the wait! I got distracted, then I got new-fandom-fever... This chapter is a bit slow, but things will heat up really quick, I promise!

_November 12, 2016 – 10:20 a.m._

 

 

She couldn’t help but to look back.

They had left the forest behind a long time ago, but Rapunzel still fixed her gaze back towards the distant hill, feeling a deep sense of homesickness and guilt stir within her like upset butterflies. Her mother was back there, on the same ground as those madmen. She felt as though she had just committed some act of betrayal—against her mother and against her very home. She abandoned it. Abandoned _her_.

But the other three bodies in the train car begged to differ. Chancing a glance at her unlikely companions, Rapunzel felt torn. Chase was half-asleep, curled in on his own self in some form of protection, while his arm—the injured one—lay half-bent to the side. Jack was leaning against Chase’s good side, his gaze lost to the sky above them. Kida, too, had a distant look in her crystal blue eyes as she toyed with her necklace mindlessly and stared off at some unseen horizon.

These people she _hadn’t_ abandoned, nor had they abandoned her. More than once, especially in retrospection, Rapunzel felt as though she was in the way of some grand problem that had nothing to do with her. She shouldn’t have been in the way, but a stranger and two boys that she had just begun to call friends had shielded her.

Yet, at the same time, they had dragged her into this. Well, the white-haired woman had—dragged them all, in fact. Couldn’t there had been some way to resolve this? To leave the situation before it got out of hand—maybe that way, they wouldn’t be in this mess. Chase wouldn’t be hurt, and she wouldn’t be so far away from home…

Pascal nudged her chin comfortingly, causing Rapunzel to smile. Things _could_ be worse. Nobody was terribly hurt, and that _had_ escaped. Rapunzel was sure that all of this would blow over, and she would be back with her mother, sipping tea, before she knew it. And Pascal was still with her, and with him, a piece of home grounding her to reality. The chameleon crawled to her shoulder, rubbing his head against her neck whilst chirping. He was something like a cat, really—affectionate yet never afraid to display his profound annoyance in any situation. Luckily, the little reptile noticed her melancholy over his discomfort. Rapunzel was lucky to have such a thoughtful companion.

That train of thought led Rapunzel to once again set her gaze and focus to her three human companions. Chase was beginning to stir, his face scrunched in some sort of…discomfort, Rapunzel would guess. Maybe his arm was bothering him again. He shifted, straightening his body against the edge of the haystack he was resting against, while wiping his forehead with his bad arm, causing him to wince.

Chase. He had acted so… _jumpy_ throughout the whole ordeal. But not in an ordinary sense; it was almost as if he was plagued with some invisible thing that caused him to drive them to near exhaustion. Rapunzel could forgive him for being freaked out—they all were—but his surety had begun to grate on her tired limbs as that horrid night progressed.

“Hey Chase,” she spoke in her sudden bout of curiosity. He swiveled his blue eyes towards her. “Back there, in the forest… why did you keep wanting to run? Couldn’t we have tried to hide, or something?”

It was petty, perhaps, to ask such a what-if question, but it was important to Rapunzel. It was the best way to ease her mind and to cease entertaining scenarios where perhaps things could have gone differently. Or, perhaps, it was to justify her own beliefs.

It was no secret that the question troubled Chase—it was plastered on his face. He was grappling with something she couldn’t hope to ascertain. Rapunzel didn’t understand why it was so difficult for him to answer—maybe he didn’t know why he did it?

But Jack bit his lip too, squirming in his position and trying to lock eyes with Chase’s flitting ones. He knew something. Was Rapunzel left out of some loop, or was this just normal? Was it something she should’ve known? She wouldn’t lie—she didn’t know much about the world. Her mother always told her of its dangers, and sought to keep her safe in that forest.

Until the dangers she spoke of reached her where she should’ve been safe.

Kida narrowed her eyes too, in a gesture Rapunzel guessed was thought or something. Suspicion maybe? Regardless, it made Rapunzel feel more and more that she said something stupid or obvious.

“You knew,” the Atlantean stated. It wasn’t a question, but it didn’t seem too sure. “You knew they were coming when they were.”

Chase tried to sink farther into the stacks of hay they all sat upon in the rattling train car. He looked…nervous? (Rapunzel would later learn the correct feeling was _cornered._ ) Jack just looked lost.

“Fine…” Chase whispered harshly. She wasn’t sure why he was so upset—maybe he was upset at himself?—but she felt pushed back all the same. Whatever threatening sense faded as he sighed deeply.

“There’s…something I should tell you…”

He paused, looking quite conflicted. “I’m… I’m _bionic_ …” Chase muttered, something harsh in his tone.

However, his tough confession was lost on Rapunzel. She squinted her eyes at the young brunet as if that would make his words make any more sense. Wasn’t bionics like a robot or something? Oh gosh, she really _didn’t_ know anything. It was probably slang or something, and Rapunzel was just oblivious in her uselessness. Unless… It was some movie she saw, with cyborgs or something, that used the term.

Rapunzel sneaked a glance at Jack, to see if his reaction would clue her in on what was going on. However, Jack remained impassive, only looking at Chase with a soft gaze and a grimace. _He knew,_ a small voice in her mind tells her. It would make sense—people close to each other were supposed to know their secrets.

“I am afraid I do not know of what you speak,” Kida questioned coolly, her brow raised. Rapunzel almost sighed in relief; someone else asked the question and not her.

Chase gaped for a moment, staring blankly, before snapping out of whatever trance he was in. “Oh, y-yeah, right,” he mumbled, before speaking up with a sigh. “It means that… that I have… _machines_ inside my brain.”

So, it _was_ like that movie.

“Why…?” Rapunzel dared to ask, peering at him curiously. She didn’t particularly care about their existence, more so their function—their purpose. Rapunzel would admit, there was something exciting about such a serious conversation, and she would have shown more enthusiasm if Chase—and Jack, for that matter—didn’t appear so somber.

Chase studied his lap, his fingers fumbling about his drawstrings. “I was born…prematurely. My brain was…underdeveloped.” He looked like he was about to say something else, but he didn’t.

Kida tapped her chin. “So this machine…it keeps your mind whole?” She sounded intrigued. Rapunzel was rather surprised she caught on so quickly. The woman didn’t appear to be of their…er… _cultural caliber_ , if her dress and terminology were anything to go by.

He nodded. “Yeah, you can say that,” Chase agreed.

But Rapunzel was still confused about something. “Why keep this a secret? Shouldn’t there be nothing wrong with needing a little help up there?” she asked, genuinely curious.

Something hard flashed across his blue eyes, steeling them for a moment, but Rapunzel couldn’t identify anything. Quickly, Chase deflated and looked to his lap. “It…changes me, I guess. My senses…aren’t what they’re supposed to be…”

Was that embarrassment then? Rapunzel was about to offer some encouragement, but Jack swiftly interrupted.

“Look,” he started abruptly, his voice hard. Jack seemed to be talking more so to Chase than anybody else, even though he faced them. “It’s not a bad thing—it _enhances_ him. He’s got, like, _super senses_. He can hear a deer from a mile away, for crying out loud!”

Rapunzel’s eyes widened. How was that possible?

Jack turned to Chase, even though the words were directed outward as well. “He thinks it makes him weird, but you know what? It makes him _better_.”

She stared at Chase, crouched in his miserable huddle that was slowly unraveling, in his dirtied green hoodie stained now with specks of blood, with his messy brown hair and subdued bright blue eyes, in a new light; he wasn’t some poor orphan—he was a trooper. A fighter. He had overcome so much, and she had been judging him this whole time. She pitied him, for being so trodden by life, but she supposed he had the tools to fight that, if he could handle this.

Suddenly, something clicked. In her revelation, she quickly pointed at Chase. “ _That’s it!_ ” she cried, excited. If it weren’t for the moving train, she would’ve leaped to her feet. “That’s how you always knew if they were coming! You could _hear_ them!” Rapunzel laughed, feeling so much better without that floating around her head. She was so relieved that she no longer had to wonder about his strange antics, that she forgot to feel sorry for judging him so in the process.

Chase offered a nervous chuckle. “Yeah…though a few times I’m sure it was just some squirrel; I _was_ really on edge…”

“Nonsense,” Kida spoke. Rapunzel kept forgetting the quiet Atlantean was there. She was eyeing Chase with some sort of gleam in her eye. “It was thanks to him that we escaped, and I thank you for that.” There was heavy sincerity in her voice.

Chase smiled, finally looking a little more relaxed. “I guess we did.”

* * *

 

Commander Rourke was not having a good day.

It all started when the Atlantean lost him and Sinclair in the river. It was a rookie mistake they made, not waiting, but Rourke had been too eager to complete his mission. He already liked to think that he had reputable status in D.R.A.G.O.N. as a bounty hunter—heck, he had repute across the entire bounty hunting community. But hunting an Atlantean, a creature of legend? That wasn’t going to get him just money—it was going to get him _power_.

But now, all that was jeopardized. All that and more.

Those damn _kids_ somehow got in the way of the perfect ambush! Just the thought of it made his blood boil and his fist clench.

If those kids lived to tell about all this, he was in trouble. Rourke wasn’t stupid; he knew what the D.R.A.G.O.N. high-ups did with failures.

“They had to have gotten on that train—it’s the only way they could’ve vanished like that,” Helga Sinclair noted calmly, causing the man to swivel his graying head towards the driver. The blonde woman stared coolly ahead on the road.

When they had caught onto their reckless trail, the kids and the Atlantean were gone without a trace—and they had left plenty of traces before. All there was were train tracks. But still, Rourke was paranoid. It could’ve been a trick; they could be driving here for nothing.

“We don’t know which direction it was going—that was a two-way track,” Rourke shot back irritably.

Sinclair remained stoic. “I already contacted our informant in Smalltown. He said that the train was scheduled to dock there at noon.”

Rourke tapped his chin. “If they _are_ there, then we can corner them. It’s a small town with few outlets and no hiding places, less witnesses…” A smile crawled onto his face as he pulled out his cellular device.

“Besides, it’s not unheard of for small train stops like these to get raided by ‘bandits’.”

* * *

She was scared, and that was something Kida didn’t want to admit—not even to herself.

Things had happened so fast. She hardly had the time for the entirety of events to settle in. But now, sitting on this land ship sailing into the unknown, she had time to reflect.

Kida decided she wasn’t comfortable with that.

On a human transport, in the presence of human children, was not the proper time to mourn; yet, it felt unnatural and callous for Kida to have the time and not fill the void. She wanted to scream, and rage, and weep, but she would only do that alone. Here, the silence was much too loud and crowded. Heavy. Her burden was too much to add to it, nor did Kida wish to show her weakness in front of the humans. But that didn’t eradicate its existence, no matter how hard she tried.

The transport rattled, and Kida fought to keep herself steady. The train, as the children called it, was nothing like the ships back home; it was rough and bumpy and clunky and uncaring—not unlike the machines that ravaged her people. She hated them both.

The human children had drifted off to sleep. It was obvious to Kida, considering their dispositions, that they were not warriors of any kind; that’s what made it surprising that they functioned as well as they did during their brief escapade together. This fact also pained Kida greatly. One, that humans were so base as to turn on their noncombatant children; two, that without them, Kida might not have made it out of that forest alive.

She was a warrior; it should have been up to her to survive. But she had been careless, and underestimated the humans that pursued her. She let them get too close. Or, perhaps, if she was strong enough to finish the job in the first place, they wouldn’t be there at all. All this Kida brooded on sourly; it was easier to feel anger than sorrow at the moment.

Soon, the train began to slow. Alarmed by the change in environment, Kida turned to better view their destination, body tense. Small, rectangular buildings budded in the near distance, a dull and lifeless blight against the dark green forest.

“We should probably ditch this place before they notice,” Chase spoke up. “I don’t think they’ll take kindly to hitchhikers.”

“No chiz,” Jack scoffed. Was…was that an argument or an agreement? Kida would’ve bet the former, but the tall brunet was smiling and moving over to the edge with Chase.

“You’re not going to jump out while it’s still moving, are you?” Rapunzel gasped.

Chase rolled his eyes. “Of course not, that’s stupid.”

Jack, one hand braced against the side of the car and one leg hiked on a bale of hay, paused. “Uh…” he drawled. “Yeah, of course not…”

Chase whacked Jack on the shoulder. In Atlantis, such a gesture would have been a sign of approval; however, it had Jack moving away and mumbling something about killjoys.

The train eventually puttered to a stop, a loud screeching whistle marking its arrival. Kida didn’t miss the way Chase shied away from the noise, shoulders drawn protectively like a panther might.

Jack vaulted over the side of the car and hit the ground with a roll. For a moment, Kida was confused: such grace of movement was not what she expected a non-warrior to possess. However, Kida was once again cruelly reminded how out of her element she was here. Without second thought, she followed him and leapt over the side, landing solidly with a heavy _thud_.

Chase and Rapunzel scrambled up behind them, far more awkward in their movements. The small group then hastened away from the depot and slipped into the town. It was small and lackluster, lacking the fan fair of merchants or tall spires. Almost as if flattened, the human city stretched around the depot with spaced out buildings and wide streets, spreading outward. People milled about, uninterested with their neighbors and focused on the task ahead of them.

“There’s gotta’ be a police station somewhere,” Chase asserted. “We need to go and find help, or something!”

Find help? Something inside of Kida protested severely at the thought of going to other humans—three children were her limit. “Police?” she repeated, the word unpleasant on her tongue.

“They’re, like, the people who make sure people are safe and following the law,” Jack answered. “And chasing people with guns? Definitely _against_ the law.”

It made sense, that humans would have some sort of structure. Her father used to dismiss them as idiots, but her mother—from what little Kida remembered of her—would tell her stories of their golden cities. And cities meant structure, however poor. “And these _police_ … they will stop the hunters?” Kida still wasn’t sure about this; her instincts were not inclined to trust at this present time.

“Well, they _should_ ,” Chase answered. Somehow, Kida found his response lacking something to be desired.

“Why wouldn’t they?” Rapunzel countered, her green eyes narrowing at Chase for a fraction of a second. His sharp tone must’ve upset her, somehow—but not enough for her to dwell on it. Humans and their speech and body cues were strange; rarely did they seem to be direct, as anything should.

“Let’s just go already,” Jack huffed. Impatience: that was something Kida was well familiar with.

“Go where?”

The small, tiny voice startled everyone. A little girl with a round pink face, chestnut hair pulled into two directions, and large dark eyes had somehow managed to approach the four of them and catch them unawares. A limp brown doll hung in her arms as the child stared at them curiously.

The fact that Kida had been distracted enough that she had not sensed the presence of a mere child injured her. It was evident that no one had seen her, but it gave her no comfort; they were but children themselves, while she was a trained warrior—she _should’ve_ been alert.

“The police station,” Rapunzel answered honestly, bending down closer to the child with a friendly smile on her face. Kida didn’t miss the way Jack and Chase flinched at this, because Kida was thinking along similar lines: if they didn’t need to associate with the child, then it was best to ignore it. It was safer that way for both parties. “Do you mind pointing us in the right direction?”

The little girl grinned back, revealing a gap-toothed smile. “Of course I do! _Everybody_ knows where the sta-shun is,” she replied, as if the answer was very obvious. “I can take you there!”

“Why thank you!” Rapunzel replied brightly.

Chase’s eyes flickered to Kida, assessing her form briefly. Reflectively, she tensed, drawing herself to her full height to prepare for retaliation. Even though there would be no need. He wasn’t a threat. _He wasn’t a threat._ It was hard to tell herself that sometimes. Still, his gaze unnerved her.

“You should probably stay behind, because, well, _you know_ ,” Chase stated awkwardly, gesturing to her entire person.

Kida’s face automatically contorted in retort. “And why would that be?” she questioned icily. Was he insinuating that she was unable to face people? Or that she was incapable of travel? She was not afraid of humans! They were beneath her! (Really, she _wasn’t._ )

Chase shrank back. “No, I mean, your clothes and hair… they’re kinda a dead giveaway. And conspicuous. You’d, uh, scare people,” he hastily explained.

She _should_ scare people. But still, Kida felt herself lose her defensive stature in embarrassing understanding, especially as she compared her garb to those of her companions. They did not wear the battle skirt, and instead possessed way more clothing, including coverings for their feet. Perhaps humans were easily chilled? She understood why the garb of a warrior might frighten the village. Plus, she could understand not being eager to reveal her presence as an Atlantean; fighting the urge to shiver, she thought of what the _other_ humans did her people simply because of who they were…

“Fine,” she sniffed. “I will stay.”

Chase appeared relieve. “I’ll, uh, stay with you.” He looked to the others. “You guys go ahead, we’ll wait here.”

She raised a skeptical brow at him. Did he really think that he was necessary to protect _her_? She did not need to be babysat.

Jack voiced her protest. “Oh no you don’t,” he retorted. He pointed at Chase. “ _You_ need to march your butt in there and get _that_ thing—” He pointed directly at the already mostly closed wound. “—checked out. _I’ll_ stay here with Kida.”

Both she and Chase frowned in defeat. It seemed she was going to get babysat after all. She spoke as much when Chase and Rapunzel marched after the little girl into the heart of the village. “I am not a child,” she protested. “I hardly understand why you insist on keeping me company.”

The brown headed boy shrugged nonchalantly. “Figured you didn’t want to be left alone in a foreign environment; that’d be rude of us.”

She frowned. That made sense, she supposed… Kida and Jack sat in silence for a time, leaned against several rusty metal crates in a private area. But then, something Chase said earlier bothered her, but she voiced it anyways. “Why would my hair make a difference to the other humans anyways?” Was there something wrong with it? It seemed to be an awfully trivial concern.

Jack raised a brow at her, his mouth moving to the side in thought. “Well, white hair isn’t common for humans,” he finally explained. “Only, well, _old people_ have white hair, and they aren’t born with it that way. Sometimes people can be a really pale blond, but not really white…”

“And do _you_ think I am ‘old’?” she retorted with an air of embarrassment and indignation. She wasn’t entirely sure where he was going with it, but the way he said it insinuated something less than pleasant to her.

He sputtered. “Wha— _no_ ,” he replied. “Of course not! You don’t seem old at all! I didn’t mean…” Suddenly, Jack paused, studying her curiously with dark brown eyes. “How old _are_ you?”

That was a strange question; was it not obvious. “I am an adult, not yet an elder.”

Jack squinted at her, unsatisfied. “Yeah, but how _old_ are you?” he pressed. “Like, how many years?”

She blinked. “What is a year?”

It was Jack’s turn to be surprised. “You know, a _year_. Like… four seasons?”

“You mean, how many eras?” she tried.

He shook his head. “No, no, a _year_. Three hundred and sixty-five days. A full rotation around the earth—the measurement of time.”

Ah, so it was a measurement. But of time? That was absurd that the humans would try to do such a thing—time passes as it pleases. There was no way to change it, so what was the use in measuring it? But Kida supposed she could roll with it. “There is no such measurement where I am from,” she told him. “So I’m afraid I am uncertain of how to answer.” He looked disappointed, daresay, so Kida attempted to leave on a better note. “…how many years are you?” she asked, some legitimate curiosity in her voice.

“Fifteen,” he answered.

“And is that…’old’?”

Jack shook his head vigorously with a laugh. “What? No, of course not! I’m a teenager—that’s not very old in the scheme of things.”

She huffed to herself. This was confusing, talk of measuring time and being ‘old’. And Kida really hated to be clueless to things these human children knew; it was humiliating, not to mention frustrating. “So what _is_ old?”

He did that scrunching thing with his mouth again. “Umm, well, humans usually live to like, eighty or ninety or something, and the average retirement age is about sixty-five, so I guess you’re considered old once you’re in your sixties.”

O…kay. She could work with that. “Thank you.”

The two sat in silence as they awaited their companions’ return. Jack propped himself against a metal box, one leg bent and pressed against it, while his arms were crossed over his chest. Kida stared at the train. It was a darkly colored metal beast, with a rough blackened hide—nothing like the machines of her home. And, it smelled of soot and fire, leaving an ashen taste on her tongue. Men milled about in the distance, opening metal segments of the train and hauling its contents to and fro. Luckily, they rarely strayed near them, and for that she was glad. While the men weren’t outwardly aggressive, they weren’t as innocuous as her unexpected companions: there was a roughness about them that rubbed Kida the wrong way. Somehow, she imagined that an encounter would quickly turn to a fight.

And while Kida was fine with that, she was tired. Even after the ride here, her nerves were far from soothed—especially being out in the open again. She hoped that Chase and Rapunzel would handle her pursuers, even if for her ease, but Kida knew that even if they did, her problems wouldn’t end. The people bent on slaughtering her people would hunt her, and they wouldn’t rest until either their job was done, or she killed them herself.

* * *

Chase and Rapunzel followed the girl as she skipped straight into the heart of town. (She literally skipped too, whilst humming.) Smalltown was, well, a _small town_. It was quaint and idyllic, with stucco and brick storefronts lining the sidewalk-accompanied streets and a cute bell tower in the distance. Happy, normal looking people milled about, minding their own business; they hardly spared them a glance, happy to ignore them despite what must’ve been their haggard appearance.

Smalltown, USA was the ideal, cookie-cutter suburb, and it made Chase nervous. It was too calm, too clean… Maybe it was just him. Neither his childhood home, nor Sixth Street Home for Boys—which existed in a rundown town in the middle-of-nowhere Illinois—were the best judge of character when it came to normal environments; but still, Chase was pretty sure that this sunny little place was too good to be true.

Or maybe Chase had just been used to too many _abnormal_ places. Though if that were the case, then there must be plenty abnormal places out there, because his story wasn’t an uncommon one.

“I’m Penny, by the way,” the little girl spoke suddenly, swinging her head back to face them. “What’s your names?”

“I’m Rapunzel,” his blonde companion responded cheerily. “And that’s Chase.”

He waved his hand awkwardly at the child, not knowing what else to do now that Rapunzel already introduced him. “Er, hi.”

Penny waved back enthusiastically, before resuming her skipping and humming. It was a bouncy tune, one she obviously loved because it was the same thing over and over again. But there was something else bothering him; this girl must’ve been only seven or eight, yet she was wandering some town alone. Perfect or no, that _had_ to be dangerous; one couldn’t trust just anyone alone with innocence. “Where’s your parents?” he asked nervously. What if they were looking for her? He was sure they wouldn’t take kindly to strange and dirty teenagers soliciting the help of their child.

Penny shook her head without breaking stride. “Nowhere,” she replied, voice light but with a hint of a sigh. Oh. Chase should’ve known—the nonchalance with aloofness or even neediness on the side: she was an orphan. Abruptly, the child began to sing. “ _Fly away, fly away, to a land full of poppies…_ ”

Chase and Rapunzel shared a look. She was confused, he could tell, but with a pained grimace she followed on.

“ _Sail away, sail away…”_

“So, ugh, how much closer?” Chase interrupted. There was an odd inflection in the girl’s voice as she sang the nursery rhyme, and he was more comfortable changing the topic.

She fell for it. “Oh, it’s just around the corner!” Penny informed. Being but a young child, perhaps just six or seven years old, she was easily distracted.

The station was small, and rather quiet. When the two entered, the bored officer at the desk barely spared them a glance.

“Um, sir?” Chase tried. “We need to file a report.”

The officer—Gerson, his nametag read—slowly tore his eyes from the computer screen to the teens. “May I help you?” he drawled.

No, they stopped here for ice cream. “Yes, we need to file a report. Two armed men—a man and woman, actually—chased us through the woods!”

Rapunzel nodded along. “They shot Chase!” she added, voice a tad frantic. “They tried to kill us!”

“Sure they did,” Gerson replied. Chase fought the urge to growl; it was obvious by the lack of reaction and the sarcastic edge to the man’s voice that he didn’t believe them.

“No, _really_ ,” Chase ground out. “The man was tall—gray chisel cut, broad chin, dark eyes, wearing combat boots and a tan tank. The woman was blonde, hair braided I think, with dark eyes, white tank, and about five foot five. They chased us towards the tracks—you gotta’ believe us!”

Throughout the report, Gerson moved very little. However, when he rattled off their descriptions, Chase could hear it—the faint yet telltale sound of his heartbeat speeding up. It was slight, but there. Did he recognize them? Were they already wanted?

“Okay fine kid.” He drew out a piece of paper. “I’ll file it. Now scram! But—but don’t go too far: y-you might need to say a few more words later.”

“Thank you, sir; thank you very much!” Rapunzel beamed at him, before grabbing Chase’s arm to leave.

But something wasn’t right; there was a weight that churned in the pit of his stomach anxiously. The police officer seemed…nervous. But what reason did he have to be? It didn’t make any sense. But then again, what did Chase know? He’d just have to trust that’ll this would blow over, and things could go back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What ever will happen next?


End file.
